


Papyrus vs Sans: A Brotherly Battle

by ImpulseFunWritinAnon



Series: Undertale: Short Battle Stories [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Battle, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Gen, Having A Bad Time, POV Papyrus, Papyrus is a cool dude, Papyrus vs Sans, SO COOL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 20:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6343516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpulseFunWritinAnon/pseuds/ImpulseFunWritinAnon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus and Sans engage in a brotherly battle. Only good things can come from this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Papyrus vs Sans: A Brotherly Battle

**Author's Note:**

> The first of my multiple short battle fanfics. The battles were decided by popular vote on /utg/. I thank the anons at /utg/ that took part in voting. Enjoy~!

A snowball fight has gone awry, and Papyrus has had enough of his brother's cheating tactics. Sans' 'shortcuts' made the snowball fight completely one-sided. In the middle of one of his shortcuts, Sans even had the audacity to go to his illegal hotdog stand in Hotland to grab a hotcat, come back, and throw more magic snowballs at his astonished little brother. This sort of fooling around did not bode well with the tall, impatient skeleton, who just wanted to have some nice, casual fun. Papyrus decided to finally call him out on his cheating.

 

"SAAAAANS! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR LAZY ANTICS! YOU ARE SO UNFAIR!"

 

Sans leaned on his immaculate fort, with a hotcat on his left hand. "i don't meow about you bro, but i've been having an absolute blast."

 

"THAT'S IT! THIS ISN'T FUN FOR ME ANYMORE! YOU KNOW SANS, I KNOW THAT YOU LIKE TO MESS WITH ME, AND PRANK ME FOR FUN AND ALL, BUT..."

 

Papyrus paused, looking down at his snow fort, barely having any resemblance to its former glory.

 

"but?" Sans inquired, as he chewed on the hotcat.

 

Papyrus took a deep breath, and quickly uttered, "I THINK THAT WE SHOULD SETTLE THIS ANOTHER WAY." Sans looked dumbfounded for once, unsettled by what his little brother meant.

 

"could you, uh, care to elaborate papyrus? snow way i'll be able to read your mind, you know..." Sans couldn't help but lie; he knew exactly what Papyrus meant, and he did not like it one bit.

 

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT, BROTHER! I'M TIRED OF BEING PRANKED, TIRED OF THE 'SHORTCUTS', AND..." Papyrus' bright smile returned.

 

"'FRANKLY', I'M TIRED OF NOT BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU DO IT! SO, IN OTHER WORDS, SANS," Papyrus stood more confidently than ever, stomping his right foot forward, pointing directly at his lazy brother.

 

"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY CAPABLE OF!"

 

Sans looked around to see if his brother was actually attempting to prank him for once. Papyrus is one for japes, not pranks, mused Sans.

 

"heh, i don't know about that papyrus. i would be beat within the first few seconds, and you obviously don't want that. listen..." Sans finished the rest of his hotcat, then proceeded to lazily walk towards Papyrus. "i will quit with the pranks for today, ok? i know what we can do instead bro. let's go back home and eat some of your spag-"

 

"SAAANS! I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME, OR EAT SPAGHETTI! DON'T TRY TO TALK YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS! EVEN IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND AND DECIDE TO STOP MESSING WITH ME FOR A MONTH, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY GO BACK TO YOUR PRANKS ANYWAY!" Papyrus retorted assertively. "COME ON BRO, LET'S HAVE A STUPENDOUS BROTHERLY BATTLE IN THE FOREST TO THE WEST!"

 

"pap, do you really wanna do this?"

 

"YES BROTHER! MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

 

Sans was starting to finally get it. Sweat beads were gathering on the top of his skull from the tension. Although shaken, Sans began to accept his brother's request. Afterall, the last thing he wants to do to him is to let him down. Sans took it upon himself to gather his thoughts to mentally prepare for the imminent battle. He took a calm, deep breath.

 

"ok." Sans replied briefly.

 

"OK? THAT'S IT?" Papyrus was now super baffled as to how compliant his flaky brother was. Regardless, Papyrus couldn't back out now. He was more ready than ever before, determined to see this battle to the end. Or, whenever they both tire. He'd rather not think about the more violent option.

 

"WELL, IF YOU INSIST BROTH-" Sans wasted no time, and engaged immediately.

 

"HEY, HEY! WAIT, HOLD O-" Sans, taking out his left hand out of his hoodie's pocket, took hold of his brother's SOUL, turning him blue, and effortlessly swung him off towards Sans' sentry station. Wood splints and dust spread after Papyrus' impact. Sans grin became wildly elated, his left eye flashing with a tint of yellow and cyan colors. Papyrus was stunned, to say the least. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. CAN MY BROTHER ACTUALLY FIGHT? HOW MUCH HAS HE BEEN HIDING ALL THESE YEARS? Papyrus' running thoughts were getting to be too much in so little time.

 

"OHHH, YOU NEVER TELL ANYBODY ANYTHING! IT'S FRUSTRATING! WHY NOT TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CREEPY FLASHING EYE? HOW DID YOU GET IT!?"

 

"beats me bro. all i know is that it's super cool. wanna see what else i can do? i think you'll find it..." Sans smile widened even further, his left eye strengthening its ardent, menacing glow.

 

"... rather sansational." He took control of Papyrus' SOUL again, harshly flinging him up into the air. Papyrus' screamed in terror. "BROTHER, STOP! STOOOP!"

 

This is it, Sans cogitated, trying to plan his next move carefully. I hate frightening Papyrus, but at the same time, I would hate to heat up this battle any further. I need to startle him a little more until he gives up on this whole battle nonsense.

 

Papyrus panicked, his breathing becoming uneven from the sudden development. He was starting to wish he hadn't insisted so much on a battle. Maybe it was a better idea to let the unfair snowball fight pass, and go eat spaghetti. Papyrus, however, was not easily broken. He was dead-set in his ways.

 

"ACTUALLY, NO. BROTHER, I URGE YOU TO NOT STOP! I HAVE NOT EVEN GOTTEN STARTED YET!" Papyrus smirked proudly, as he repositioned himself while airborne. Within a second, he summoned a barrage of bones headed to rain down on Sans, as Papyrus braced himself to land on his brother.

 

Seeing this sudden change in Papyrus, Sans had to go to Plan B.

 

"heya bro, that's a nice pile of bones you got there. too bad they are as good as gone." Sans put his left hand back in his pocket, as to not raise any alarm, when in reality, he was evoking four terrifying goat, dragon-like skeletal maws. His left eye shined brighter than ever, flashing intensely. In an instant, he focused the maws onto Papyrus, swiftly beginning to charge a harsh, burning light in the back of the maws' jaws.

 

Papyrus was now more horrified than ever before in his life. THIS KIND OF LATENT POWER IS NOT LIKE MY BROTHER AT ALL! IT MAKES NO SENSE, Papyrus thought, alarmed at witnessing the unbelievable scene.

 

Just as Papyrus was about to devise the next plan of action, his barrage of bones headed towards his brother were decimated in less than a second by the brilliant, blistering lasers from his brothers' summoned maws.

  
"B-BUT HOW? SANS, ARE YOU CHEATING!?" Papyrus needed to find some sort of answer, anything that might give him a hint as to what to expect next from his now aggressive, unyielding brother.

 

"nope, i'm playing fair and square, bro. come now, don't hold back. i've still got a skeleTON of attacks to show you," Sans blinked his right eye, his left eye wildly flashing, as he took control of his brother's SOUL yet again, and gracefully led him through the air towards the snow, although he couldn't help himself and stopped two thirds of the way to the ground, letting momentum take care of the rest, causing Papyrus' body to slide head-first into the harsh cold, frigid parts of the snowy earth. Papyrus was having a bad time.

 

Sans' left eye went back to normal, putting a stop to his brutal assault.

 

"welp. papyrus, this battle is getting kind of," Sans yawned, "boring. care to take a shortcut back home to eat some of your tasty spaghetti?"

 

A muffled sound could be heard from Papyrus' burrowed head. "NO! YOU MAY HAVE BEEN VICTORIOUS THIS TURN, BUT YOU WON'T BE SO LUCKY THE NEXT!" Papyrus, eager to continue the battle, pulled himself out of his humiliating position. Papyrus rushed towards Sans. "EN GARDE, BROTHER!" He summoned even more bones, this time able to greatly damage Sans. Papyrus was not very happy, and was hellbent on besting his older brother, once and for all. I MUST PROVE MYSELF TO HIM, Papyrus thought as he let out his unrelenting attack.

 

"DODGE THIS!" Papyrus rapidly summoned wave after wave of bones, both blue and regular. OH NO, Papyrus thought, WHAT IF HE CAN'T SURVIVE THIS!?

 

"ok." Sans was as casual as ever, hands in his pocket. Yet, he continued to surprise Papyrus once more. Sans stood in the same position as the bones were shooting straight towards him. He dodged every projectile, nimble as can be, his agility further mystifying Papyrus. Sans' poise did not falter for a moment, the lax look on his grinning face beaming at Papyrus.

 

"did i dodge to your liking pap? i'm starting to have a little bit of fun now. although, i'm not entirely sure if i'm supposed to be having fun or not at this point. my offer is still on the table," Sans winked his left eye. "just so you know."

 

Papyrus didn't even know what to say anymore, nor which attack he should use next. I'VE BEEN GOING TOO EASY ON HIM, he thought quickly. I NEED TO BRING OUT MY SPECIAL ATTACK SO SOON? I DID NOT WANT TO HAVE IT COME TO THIS. THAT'S IT! I'LL SCARE HIM BACK! HE WILL KNOW I MEAN SERIOUS BUSINESS! Papyrus knew what to do now, and felt a part of him fill with determination. Unfortunately, he did not know what this meant as far as side-effects go.

 

"BROTHER, I REFUSE YOUR KIND OFFER! I AM NOW MORE DETERMINED THAN EVER TO SHOW YOU WHAT I'M MADE OF, ESPECIALLY AFTER WITNESSING YOUR MAGICAL PROWESS! BUT, YOU WILL NOT BEST THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Sans SOUL sunk, as he heard those fatal words. Determined, oh god, why, Sans frantically thought. I should have NEVER agreed to this!

 

"wait papyrus, stop it! stop right now! i mean it, don't go any further than this. that's it, guess what papyrus? i give up. you win. it's all good no-"

 

"THAT IS SO CHEAP, SANS! IF I'M GOING TO WIN, I WILL WIN FAIRLY!" Papyrus was not willing to heed Sans' warning.

 

"fine. be that way. i'm sorry for what i am about to do, papyrus. but it's for your own good." Sans closed his eyes, opening them the next instant, his right eye pitch black, and his radiant left eye flashing the usual yellow and blue, only this time, the colors were so intensely lucent that the glow caused a rainbow-like flare to build up, leaving streaks of it dance in the brisk, cool air. This kind of power was completely unknown to Sans himself, but he had to go above and beyond, for his little brother. I'm not going to let the light of my life, the only one that truly matters to me, die on me, Sans thought fervently. It is now or never.

 

Sans decided, for once, to put effort into his next attack, since it was essential to saving Papyrus' life. Once more, Sans mastery of his arcane methods were about to be showcased. Despite the amount of focus he was putting on, Sans gave the same adamant look in his eyes - although his left eye was, without a doubt, in a state of frenzy, but Sans being Sans, he has always been difficult to read - as his perpetual grin tightened and rose, giving his smile a manic, merciless expression.

 

"papyrus, i'll give you 'til the count to ten to run. if you aren't gone by the time i hit nine, i will let loose an attack that i haven't used before, so please, step aside, go home... or i will not hesitate to use it."

 

As if Papyrus wasn't already startled enough by his brother's change in complexion, Papyrus was about ready to run for his life. THIS ISN'T MY BROTHER ANYMORE! I CAN'T TAKE THIS, Papyrus thought, his anxiety rising the longer he stared at his older brother. BUT... BUT I MUST KEEP GOING! I CANNOT GIVE UP SO EASILY!

 

"BROTHER, ALTHOUGH YOUR FACE GREATLY SCARES ME, YOUR INTIMIDATION TACTICS WILL NOT FAZE THE GREAT PAPYRUS OUT OF BATTLE! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!" Papyrus was proud, and thought this would stop Sans for sure, because he knows deep inside, Sans would not dare hurt him in any lifetime.

 

A dead silence, save for the smooth, whistling wind chill of the snowy forest, filled the area with dread. Although there were two SOULs indeed in high spirits on this calm, beautiful day, they were less so of a jolly high, and more of a feverish, chaotic high. One of the brothers were about to receive the greatest, most unrelenting beat-down of their lives, and both were cornered into each other's cunning plans to scare the other one off. Sans then came to realize that he forgot to start counting down. This battle was much too startling and unreal for him, but he had no choice but to face it.

 

"... ok." Sans hesitantly raised both hands from his pockets, preparing to evoke something potent. Papyrus, also realizing that Sans was supposed to start counting, raised his hand towards him, his face showing worry, confusion, and disappointment. "SANS! WHAT GIVES!? YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO COUNT TO TEN, YOU CHEATER!"

 

A magical pressure dominated the area, a giant maw rising above Sans, as if it came straight from hell itself. It looked similar to Sans' standard skeletal maws, except this one had a more primordial, bestial design. This thing was truly depraved. A bloodthirsty, sanguine glow ignited within its empty eye sockets. How is this possible? Even Sans doesn't know, as this goes beyond his scientific research into the arcane. His only concern and mission is to make sure Papyrus backs off before his determination takes over his body and turns him into one of the suffering Amalgamates in Alphys' lab. Sans refused to let another monster fall victim to the power of determination.

 

Sans lowered his hands, shoving them back into his pockets, as the stygian maw took a life of its own, giving itself a more macabre body and a lurid glare. This definitely had an uncanny resemblance to the God of Hyperdeath, had Sans actually seen Asriel's demiurge state with his own eyes. Sans didn't even care about this new sinister power looming over him; he would have research this later. As Sans slowly closed his eyes, he let his left eye flash one last time before letting the hellish maw loose on his brother. Sans took a step toward the beast, before heading into its path of rampage.

 

"please, whatever you are..." Sans began to plead as he turned around to face his outrageous creation, his eyes becoming tightly shut. "don't kill my brother."

 

Sans stepped out of the maw's way, followed by the most demonic, warlike screech, the cry reverberating all over the snowy forest. The snow that lay still on the pines was shaken off from the vibrations. Papyrus, although stubborn and willing to persevere, knew that he was at his limits. Yet, he refused to give up once again, as he faced the demon rushing at him, ready to give Papyrus a devastating, crushing fatal blow. Sans couldn't bare to watch.

 

"SANS, THIS IS SICKENING! REGARDLESS OF HOW HOPELESS THIS SITUATION IS LOOKING FOR ME... I ACCEPT THIS CHALLENGE! BECAUSE I AM WILLING TO HOPE THAT I MAY BEST THIS FOUL BEAST!" The beast got closer and closer, starting to leap at Papyrus, and...

 

Sans raised his left hand in the air, recalling his stygian creation, as it dissipated infront of Papyrus, leaving a dusty shimmer in the air.

 

"... you win. i forfeit the battle pap. i can't do this to you." Sans looked ashamed of himself for having to go as far as this. He knew better than to test his brother, for he was innocent, hopeful and too naive, much too pure and oblivious to life's greatest strifes, to face the primordial beast.

 

Papyrus decided to lower his guard, his determination diminishing at the sight of his downtrodden older brother. It pained him greatly so to see him like this.

 

"HEY SANS," Papyrus approached his brother, laying his hand on Sans' shoulder.

 

"I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT ALTHOUGH YOU ARE SUPER LAZY, NEGLIGENT OF YOUR PET ROCK, AND REFUSE TO PICK UP THAT SOCK IN THE LIVING ROOM..."

 

Sans remembered the sock alright. "heh. sorry."

 

"YOU ARE THE BEST BROTHER I COULD EVER ASK FOR. I WOULDN'T GIVE YOU UP FOR THE WORLD!" Papyrus shouted with the most jovial tone. "YOU REALLY DO CARE ABOUT ME, AND THAT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR ME." Papyrus shed tiny glimmers of tears. He rubbed them off quickly, only to have more tears sneak out from his eye sockets. Papyrus shook them off, regaining his confident posture, and continued to comfort Sans.

 

"I'M SORRY SANS, FOR NOT LISTENING... I KNOW THAT DESPITE ALL YOUR FAULTS, YOU DO KNOW BETTER AT TIMES. YOU ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST TO LOOK OUT FOR ME. DON'T THINK I DIDN'T NOTICE, EVEN THOUGH SOMETIMES, I FEEL LIKE YOU DO MORE THAN YOU APPEAR TO BE DOING. THAT IS WHY I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ACCEPT YOUR FORFEIT FROM THIS BATTLE!"

 

Sans let out a heavy, relieved sigh. "finally. you were really starting to scare me papyrus. i suggest not going through that again. as in, not even suggest. just plain, ol' never ever in our lives again."

 

Papyrus stared wide-eyed and retorted brashly. "YOU, SCARED!? HOW ABOUT ME SANS? IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SCARED, JUST THINK ABOUT HOW SCARED I WAS! SCARED SENSELESS!"

 

"heh. scaredy cat." Sans uttered in a deadpan manner.

 

"UGH SAAAAANS! DARN YOU AND YOUR HOTCAT REFERENCES! I AM SICK OF IT!" Papyrus turned his back on his brother, folding his arms.

 

"come ooon bro, you're smiling." Sans grinned widely.

 

"I AM SMILING AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus couldn't help but laugh a little and grin.

 

"let's go home papyrus. we'll take a shortcut, just for kicks." Sans waved on at Papyrus. He suddenly took notice of his broken sentry station. "oh, uh, yeah, also, before you start going on about my sentry station being all messed u-"

 

"DO NOT FRET, DEAR BROTHER! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO FIX UP YOUR STATION! IT'S A SMALL FEAT FOR THIS SKELETON!"

 

Sans looked up to Papyrus in awe. "you are so cool bro. i'm glad to have a brother like you. and i wouldn't give you up for all the universes."

 

Papyrus looked at Sans in confusion, yet he couldn't help but feel a positive connotation in his words. "SANS, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT, BUT I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT CAN ONLY MEAN GREAT THINGS!"

 

"yeah pap. great things for sure. also, i need to mention... don't tell anybody else about what happened here, 'aight?"

 

"SURE THING, BROTHER! ANYTHING FOR YOU!" Papyrus responded without hesitation, with an expression of adoration and content on his face.

 

"that is so cool." Sans responded with a wide, happy grin.

 

"OH MY GOD SANS, AS MUCH AS LIKE YOUR COMPLIMENTS, WILL YOU EVER STOP SAYI-"

 

"so cool."

 

"SANS."

 

"so cool."

 

"SANS!"

 

"so cool."

 

"SAAAAANS!"

 


End file.
